I got my pet rat about a month ago. she was fine from the get-go and such a sweetheart! bust lately she has this odd habit of biting and drawing blood. when i take her to my mothersw house she is so sweet and just lays on me and sleeps, but when at home she is crazy and likes to bite things. how can i rid her of this aweful habit. and could something maybe be wrong with her?
2007-06-20 05:27:49 · 6 answers · asked by Andy Terror 2 in Pets ➔ Rodents
first take her to the vet to be checked over to make sure that she isn't sick or in pain. after that go through the area of the house that she is usually in and see if there is anything that could be bothering or scaring her. if neither of those are it make a loud and sharp eek sound which to them will mean stop it that hurts or give her a tap on the nose and a firm no each time she does it.
2007-06-20 12:41:59 · answer #1 · answered by MommyCaleb 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think that she has just had a biting habit.
She has to have something to chew on all the time.
I would suggest that you get like wood blocks from Petsmart or Petco. I used to have a pet rat named Spot she was so sweet, but she had a haibt of biting her cage and chewing her igloo. Rats (and all rodents) teeth will never stop growing and if they don't chew on something you give them, they will find something else to chew and they will chew it up until it's like gone.
Never put a rodent next to a piece of furniture that's wood and very valuble, they can chew it up if you put it close enough. If you feel that they have a problem ask someone.
If your rat bites you just teach her not to. When I first got Spot she nibbled on my finger alot. Now instead of biting and nibbling she licks, I don't know why. I also gave her treats (vitamins) that were sweet when she didn't bite.
After I knew my rat for like 3 weeks she started to climb on to my head and up my shorts....ouch. She knew how to flip and do tiny pull-ups. She loved going in my bedroom. She hung off of my sheets.
I hope you have a great time with your new pet rat!
2007-06-20 10:09:28 · answer #2 · answered by Jonathan l 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I used to have a rat that was totally normal at home, but when I brought her to my parents' house (in a different city) she bit me! I have no idea what her problem was, but once we left, she was fine again. I think she was just going through a short phase. Hopefully your rat is just going through a phase as well.
Before holding or touching her, make sure you have clean hands with no food smells on them.
Give her enough things to chew on, because rats need to gnaw and chew on things so that their teeth are kept at a normal length. Buy her some wood toys or hard, dried corn cobs (available at pet stores) if you haven't already.
Does she have any rat friends? Rats are social animals and do better with at least one other rat (same sex). You might want to get her a rat friend that's about her same age.
2007-06-20 06:15:12 · answer #3 · answered by K 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Some rats have 'cage aggression'-- they are overly protective of their homes & will attack if you put your hane inside the cage. Our 27 month old siamese doe will bite anyone except me if they touch her cage, but she's sweet once she comes out & doesn't even bite @ the vet's office. If this sounds like your girl, you might want to let her come out of the cage on her own & will probably want to make sure she's occupied elsewhere when you clean the cage.
2007-06-20 09:30:19 · answer #4 · answered by Catkin 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well you can put a bitter tasting liquid on your fingers so when she bits she tastes something gross. Or just sray her with water each time she bites. Those two things may help. I taught my rat that if she's bad, she goes straight to the cage for 2 hours. She's hardly ever in her cage so being put in the cage lets her know she did something wrong. It works for me. Good luck.
2007-06-20 06:03:48 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
I'd pull its teeth out.
2007-06-20 05:30:53 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 5⤋